On March 2, 2026, 31-year-old flight instructor Liam Darcy departed Long Island MacArthur Airport at approximately 18:30 with a 17-year-old student pilot for a night training exercise. Darcy had been instructing the student for the past year and a half through the Part 61 flight school Long Island Flying.
The aircraft flew north and landed at Stewart International Airport, where the crew performed a "stop-and-go," a maneuver commonly practiced during pilot training. After taking off again from Stewart, the aircraft began experiencing mechanical problems near the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Darcy took control of the aircraft from the student, turned back toward Stewart, and issued a Mayday call. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft's engine failed completely, forcing the aircraft into a glide at approximately 65 knots. Unable to reach the runway, the flight instructor chose the Hudson River for an emergency landing.
Darcy calmly reported to air traffic control, "We're going into the Hudson River. I don't think we're gonna the airport."
Controllers guided the aircraft as close to the shoreline as possible to increase the chances of survival and allow for a faster rescue response. The aircraft turned 180 degrees toward the Hudson and touched down approximately 200 feet from shore near the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.
Both occupants successfully self-extricated from the aircraft and swam roughly 50 feet through the icy water to shore, where they sheltered in a nearby building while awaiting first responders. The aircraft remained mostly intact after the ditching. First responders later transported both occupants to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the U.S. Coast Guard, and New York State authorities. Officials reported that the aircraft experienced a loss of oil pressure prior to the engine failure, though the exact cause has not yet been determined.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul described the incident as "another miracle on the Hudson," referencing the famous 2009 ditching of US Airways Flight 1549, when Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed an Airbus A320 in the Hudson River following a bird strike.
No preliminary report has been released by the NTSB at this time.
